Are you using a version of Ambari less than 2.2.1? Please refer to http://docs.hortonworks.com/HDPDocuments/Ambari-2.2.1.0/bk_Installing_HDP_AMB/content/_determine_stack_compatibility.html , where it says only Ambari-2.2.1 supports HDP-2.4. Therefore, if you are using < 2.2.1, please upgrade Ambari before trying to upgrade the stack. The upgrade doc is at http://docs.hortonworks.com/HDPDocuments/Ambari/Ambari-2.2.1.0/index.html#bk_upgrading_Ambari ... View more